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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In the United Kingdom, Tory Leader, Kemi Badenoch said she will “not speak to women wearing burqas in her constituency” and argued “that employers should be able to ban their staff from wearing face coverings”, while Reform Party Chairman Zia Yusuf quits after denouncing a call from within party ranks to ban the burqa as “dumb”, and in Canada, hundreds gathered at a vigil Friday night in London, Ont., to commemorate four years since the brutal killing of the Afzaal family. Our recommended read of the day is by The New Arab on the findings of a newly released survey by the Labour Muslim Network (LMN), which found that 66 percent of respondents said they did not believe Muslim representatives were treated equally within the party,” and one-third of respondents said they had personally experienced Islamophobia. This and more below:
United Kingdom
UK Labour Muslims say Islamophobia not taken seriously by party, call for sanctions on Israel | Recommended Read
A landmark survey of Muslim representatives in the UK Labour Party has revealed widespread dissatisfaction with the party’s position on Israel's war on Gaza , as well as significant concerns about Islamophobia within the party itself. The survey, conducted by the Labour Muslim Network (LMN) between 2 April and 16 May, is the first of its kind. It received responses from 221 out of 477 eligible Muslim elected officials within the Labour Party, including MPs, councillors, and mayors. The findings show that 77 percent of respondents believe the UK government should end all arms exports to Israel. An even greater proportion, 84 percent, said they support imposing sanctions on the Israeli government. Almost all - 97 percent - said they support the immediate recognition of the state of Palestine. The LMN survey also found that 58 percent of Muslim Labour representatives believe the party had failed to represent British Muslims adequately. A further 66 percent said they did not believe Muslim representatives were treated equally within the party. One-third of respondents said they had personally experienced Islamophobia. When asked about how the party addresses Islamophobia, more than half of respondents said they did not believe Labour takes the issue seriously. read the complete article
Chairman of far-right Reform UK party quits after burqa row
The Muslim chairman of the United Kingdom’s radical right-wing Reform UK party has quit after denouncing a call from within party ranks to ban the burqa as “dumb”. “I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office,” Zia Yusuf announced on X on Thursday, hours after hitting out at Reform UK lawmaker Sarah Pochin for asking Prime Minister Keir Starmer whether his government would consider banning the burqa. Pochin won her seat in a by-election last month that saw the anti-immigration party, some of whose members have been accused of Islamophobia, make significant gains in a political landscape traditionally dominated by the governing Labour Party and the opposition Conservatives. The new lawmaker had urged Labour’s Starmer during her debut appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday if he would consider the move “in the interests of public safety”, according to the BBC. “I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do,” Yusuf said on X amid an ensuing flare-up over whether banning the burqa should be party policy. Yusuf, a former banker and self-described “proud British Muslim patriot”, became Reform UK chairman after last year’s general election, having jumped ship from the Conservative Party. read the complete article
Labour pollster 'received death threats and labelled terrorist' as he tells LBC of party's 'shocking Islamophobia'
Labour's Muslim politicians have been the victims of “stark and shocking" levels of Islamophobia, a campaigner has told LBC as he shared his own experience of receiving death threats and being called a terrorist. Speaking to LBC's Lewis Goodall, Labour Muslim Network's Ali Milani called on the party to treat Muslims equally after a major survey revealed an alleged "hierarchy of racism" within the party. His organisation polled over 477 Muslim councils and MPs across the country to get theIr perceptions of the Labour Party and their experiences within it. Mr Milani described the results as "stark and shocking", as he revealed that he himself received death threats. He also claimed that he was asked by Labour members whether he was a terrorist when he stood as a candidate in Uxbridge back in 2013. “I’ve had death threats. People in the Labour Party ask me if I’m a terrorist. Labour party members have asked me,” he said. read the complete article
Leading British Muslims accuse Reform UK of stoking hostile sentiment
Leading British Muslims are warning that Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is increasingly inflaming hostile sentiment towards Muslims after chair Zia Yusuf resigned over a row about banning the burqa. His departure was described by the co-chair of the British Muslim Network, a new civil group representing the community, as a “stark illustration” that many in Reform do not view British Muslims as valued equal members of society. Yusuf, who describes himself as a “British Muslim patriot” and chaired the party for less than a year, quit on Thursday, saying his work for Reform was no longer the best use of his time. Farage has drawn a line in the past at the rhetoric of the far right activist known as Tommy Robinson, who is overtly anti-Islam, and has pushed out Reform activists and figures more sympathetic to Robinson such as Rupert Lowe and Ben Habib. However, the party’s focus on issues related to Islam appears to have increased in recent weeks with Farage holding a debate on his GB News show this week on the burqa. Pochin, a former Tory, also recently posed with a mug branded “Two Tier Keir” that shows Starmer mocked up wearing a hijab in a design that appears to be implying he is more favourable to Muslims than other groups. Baroness Shaista Gohir, chief executive of the Muslim Women’s Network UK, said political leaders “play a crucial role in shaping societal attitudes, and it is evident that some MPs intentionally use coded language to normalise hostility towards Muslims and appeal to anti-Muslim sentiment”. read the complete article
Kemi Badenoch says she does not speak to women in burqas at constituency surgery
Kemi Badenoch has said she will not speak to women wearing burqas in her constituency surgery, and argued that employers should be able to ban their staff from wearing face coverings. The Conservative leader gave her views after the newest Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, triggered a debate over the subject by pressing Keir Starmer on whether he would follow the lead of other European countries such as France in banning the burqa. Badenoch said an interview with the Sunday Telegraph that there were other things that were “more insidious”, such as sharia courts, and that women should be able to wear what they like. But she said that if people came to her constituency surgery wearing face coverings, whether they were balaclavas or burqas, she asked that they remove them. She also said employers should be able to stop their staff wearing burqas if they wanted to. Her remarks caused consternation among some Muslims. Afzal Khan, the Labour MP and vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on British Muslims, said: “Trying to outflank Reform UK on immigration or culture wars doesn’t just risk alienating moderate voters, it erodes trust in politics itself. “Britain faces serious challenges: a struggling NHS, a deepening cost of living crisis, economic uncertainty, and a polarised, often toxic debate on immigration. These problems won’t be solved by scapegoating or soundbites. They demand serious leadership – not stunts designed to grab headlines or appease the far right.” read the complete article
France
French suspect in killing of Tunisian neighbour to appear before anti-terrorism judge
A Frenchman accused of shooting his Tunisian neighbour to death in a small village in southern France is on Thursday set to appear before an anti-terrorism judge. Both before and after the killing, the man, who is in his 50s, posted racist videos on social media. He is also accused of shooting and wounding a Turkish neighbour. read the complete article
"Racism in France has always been a question of anti-migrant and anti-Muslim bias"
A Frenchman was remanded in custody on Thursday over the racist killing of his Tunisian neighbour, in what prosecutors say is the first time a far-right attack has been classed as terrorism. Saturday's shooting in the town of Puget-sur-Argens in southern France sparked fresh concerns about rising racism in France, which is home to the largest Muslim community in the European Union. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24's Delano D'Souza welcomes Jean Beaman, Researcher, Author and Associate Professor of Sociology, specialising in Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies, International Migration Studies at the Graduate Center of The City University of New York (CUNY). read the complete article
The Muslims Who Are Leaving France
One morning in May, residents of the small French city of Orléans woke up to stickers slapped onto light poles, park benches, and other street furniture. “Muslim-restricted area,” the stickers read — accompanied with crossed-out photos of headscarf-wearing women, bearded men, and figures praying. Below another text read, “A better world without Muslim [sic].” The stickers, left-wing daily L’Humanité reports, included the URL of a recently jailed Normandy-based neo-Nazi. He was infamous for his T-shirts proclaiming, among other crass and racist things, “Refugees welcome” in the form of the entry gate to Auschwitz. The stickering action was no isolated incident. Nor was it the most extreme. In the first three months of this year, seventy-nine Islamophobic hate crimes took place across France — an increase of more than 70 percent relative to the same period in 2024, according to the interior minister. If this shift has accelerated in recent months — made all the more poignant by the fatal April 25 stabbing of Malian man Aboubakar Cissé in a mosque in Southern France — the country’s Islamophobia epidemic has much deeper roots. Such is the bad atmosphere for Muslims, it’s even leading to brain drain. That’s the main finding of a recently edited and rereleased book by three French researchers, La France, tu l’aimes mais tu la quittes (France, You Love It but You Leave It). For three years, Olivier Esteves, Alice Picard, and Julien Talpin investigated the increasing numbers of highly qualified, well-educated French Muslims who have decided to leave the country for greener pastures — usually in more multicultural countries like Britain and Canada. The researchers interviewed more than a thousand French Muslims living abroad — nearly all of whom were born and raised in France and had French nationality — to identify the push and pull factors leading members of France’s largest religious minority (representing between 8 to 10 percent of the population) to leave the country in droves. For most interviewees, it was not one moment, but a slow buildup of microaggressions and a generalized climate of Islamophobia that precipitated their decision to leave France. But French Muslims nonetheless recount painful individual experiences of discrimination. read the complete article
Why is the French government so worried about the Muslim Brotherhood?
A report released by the French government laying out the security risks posed to Europe by the Muslim Brotherhood — an Islamist organisation listed as a terrorist group by several countries — has been branded “alarmist” by leading Muslim commentators. The report, drawn up by two senior civil servants and presented to the president Emmanuel Macron, warns that the Muslim Brotherhood is infiltrating French institutions and threatens national cohesion. The Islamist group, it says, controls hundreds of mosques as well as large organisations in Brussels and France, which it uses as tools for “political entryism”. The French Council of the Muslim Faith has warned the report risks “fuelling fantasies and conspiracy theories, the consequences of which are unfortunately very real” and has called for a “clear-eyed assessment” of the threat posed by extremism in France. According to Wagermakers the European Brotherhood focuses its activism on advocacy: “It concentrates on fighting Islamophobia, standing up for Muslims’ rights and advocating issues it sees as Islamic, such as the Palestinian cause or its opposition to western involvement in the war in Iraq some 20 years ago.” Prominent commentators — including Franck Frégosi, a political scientist whose work is cited in the report — have voiced fears that the French government’s aim, rather than responding to real security threats, is to offer political cover to limit the participation of French Muslims in public life and casts suspicion over all Muslims engaged in political activity. “To put it bluntly, I think talk of a Muslim Brotherhood threat to Europe is at best exaggerated and at worst is Islamophobia,” Hafez said. Amel Boubekeur, a French political sociologist, has argued the threat of covert activity by the Brotherhood is being used to frame the political engagement of young French Muslims in opposition to the war in Gaza as “a threat to national cohesion”. read the complete article
United States
'All I did was graduate.' Palestinian Americans grapple with hate on NJ graduation page
Hassan Elsamna of Wayne graduated from Rutgers University in May with a 3.9 GPA and a bachelor's degree in cell biology and neuroscience. While in school, he rowed on the crew team and worked as a teaching assistant in physics. After four years of hard work, Elsamna will start medical school in July. Proud of his accomplishments, his family submitted his photo and graduation details to share on a Facebook page run by the Palestinian American Community Center in Clifton. It’s a popular annual feature, in which community members give shout-outs to graduates and celebrate their success. What followed, he said, was hatred. Under his picture, showing him smiling in a red graduation robe and with a Palestinian scarf around his shoulders, people he did not know wrote in comments that he is a “terrorist,” “an inhuman piece of human excrement” and “disgusting.” “I saw that it was being absolutely dominated by hate, pure hatred being spewed at me for no reason,” said Elsamna, 21. “I didn’t do anything. All I did was graduate.” read the complete article
Outrage after Republican representative disparages Sikh prayer in the US House
A Republican congresswoman is facing widespread backlash after saying that a Sikh should not have conducted a prayer in the US House. Mary Miller, an Illinois representative, on Friday published – then deleted – a post on X saying that Giani Singh, a Sikh Granthi from southern New Jersey, should not have delivered the House’s morning prayer. Miller at first mistakenly identified Singh as a Muslim and said that it was “deeply troubling” someone of that faith had been allowed to lead prayer in the House and it “should never have been allowed”, Miller posted on X. Miller first edited her post to change Muslim to Sikh – then opted to delete it. Her comments triggered swift outrage, with the Democratic House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, saying: “It’s deeply troubling that such an ignorant and hateful extremist is serving in the United States Congress. That would be you, Mary.” The Congressional Asian Pacific American caucus (Capac) also condemned Miller, saying she had engaged in “anti-Sikh and anti-Muslim bigotry”. read the complete article
Antisemitic and Islamophobic violence is rising in the United States. Both must stop
Antisemitism must not be given any oxygen to breathe. One can oppose Israel’s 600-plus day war, relentlessly pounding innocent people in Gaza, while vigorously opposing all forms of antisemitism. In fact, one must oppose both. Such is our duty to each other in a civilized world. And as we have a duty to call out antisemitism when we see it, we also have an equal duty to remember that Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims have also been subjected to extreme forms of violence and bigotry in the US since the beginning of this terrible war. And while we are certain to hear much about today’s rising antisemitism in the coming days, as we should, we must also make sure to acknowledge the rising threats against Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims. The organizations which track antisemitism and Islamophobia have each recorded record high incidents and complaints in the past year, as the violence of this war blows back our shores. None of this should be happening, and it’s clear that our first line of defense, and our responsibility as Americans, is to stop this war immediately, “before this violence grows and spreads further, consuming even more innocent lives in its monstrous path.” read the complete article
Canada
London’s commemoration of Afzaal family
Hundreds gathered at a vigil Friday night in London, Ont., to commemorate four years since the brutal killing of the Afzaal family. “It’s so important for us to remember what happened, to remember this family and recommit to standing united against all forms of hatred, including Islamophobia,” said Amira Elghawaby, a Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia. The family was out for an evening walk on June 6, 2021, when they were run over by Nathaniel Veltman, who was later convicted of first-degree murder and deemed a terrorist by the courts. “It happened because they were Muslim which is deeply, deeply painful for Canadians across the country and of course London Muslims,” said Elghawaby. Advocates expressed events like this one help bring the community together, show solidarity and respect for human rights. “This is really a whole of society issue that all Canadians benefit from supporting and addressing,” said Elghawaby. read the complete article
India
India: Rising islamophobia and rights violations amid tensions with Pakistan
An eminent Indian Muslim intellectual was arrested in New Delhi earlier this month for his social media posts over India’s recent military operation against Pakistan. Though released on temporary bail, his arrest has led to allegations of violations of the rights of Muslims and Kashmiris in the country, especially in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack in Indian-Administered Kashmir last month that led to the killing of 26 civilians, most of them Hindus. read the complete article